Separator for storage batteries



.F'ILLIAIl/i H. HOOD, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

SEPARATGE FOR STORAGE BATTERIES.

IE? 0 Drawing.

To all #71077), if may concern Be it known that l. lv iuinni H. Woon, a citizen of the United States. residing at Cleveland. in the county of (uyahoga and State of Ohio. hare invented a certain new and useful improvement in Separators for Storage Batteries, of which the following is a full. clear. and exact description.

This invention relates to separators for storage batteries and has for its object the provision of a pervious separator which shall be insoluble in the electrolyte. The source of material which I employ is the hair ot'lleece of mamalian animals, for example that or" beet creatures. inasmuch as great quantities of this material is thrown away every year, although that of any other hairy animal can equally well be employed. A'l'ter descaling this material is either knitted. netted. l'elted or otherwise built up, and may also be embedded in or surrounded by rubber or other substances: all oi such inaterial is alike in this. that in the natural state each strand is armored with a complete coating of minute slippery scales which resist wetting. diminish friction. and prevent adhesion of the, same either to other hairs or to other objects nd it is largely by these qualities that such material is distinguished from vegetable fibers, and it is also to this cause that fabrics woven ol hair possess their peculiar unpleasant qualities and that ropes or threads of hair have little strength. despite the very great strength oi the indiridual hairs. Accordion to my invention the exterior scaly portion of the hair is first removed by soaking in a suitable chemical, Sncl; as sodium sulphite solution or milk of lime. I then spin the resulting material into thread or cord, producing thereby an article of great strength which is also capable of a great deal of liexure without breaking, and which also possesses the ad vantage of insolubility in all acids except. the very strongest.

The raw material which I preferably eniploy is slaughter-house hair or tanners hair, although I may also employ hair from any source. After treating the same with sodium sulphite, mill: of lime or other substance, and after having thoroughly cleansed the same and removed the spent solution, 1 employ the sameeither in the felted, woven Application filed April 17, 1920. Serial No. 374,711.

knitted. or netted state for locations in which an acid resistant tahric is required such as the clothing ol those engaged in chemical industries and in the construction of separators for storage batteries and for the filtration of acid liquids. Such a fibrous material becomes easily embedded in the rubber as is necessary in the manufacture of tires, battery separators: and owing to its very great tensile strength and its high re sistance to acid action. it possesses nany qualities oi great value not present in any other material while having the further advantage of extreme cheapness owing to its derivation from what is now a waste prod uct.

Having thus described my invention. what claim is:

1. A fabric made oi rubber composition traversed by strands of mamalian hair from which the scaly exterior portions have been removed.

2. A rubbenimpregnated. reinforced article in which the reintorcing material consists essentially ol mammalian hair from which the scaly exterior portions have been removed.

3. A separator for storage batteries consisting essentially ol a plate of material insoluble in the electrolyte and having therein reinforcing and pore-forming libers consisting of mammalian hair from which the exterior scaly portions hare been chemically removed.

4. A separator for storage batteries con sisting of av sheet of fabric made from mammalian hair whose scaly exterior portions have been chemically remored, said fabric impregnated with rubber composition.

A separator l'or storage batteries consisting essentially ol a t'eltcd sheet or mammalian hair "from which the external scaly portions have been removed. said sheet being impregnated with suliicient rubber material to afford mechanical strength without overcoming porosity.

6. A separator for storage batteries containing mammalian hair whose scaly exterior portions have been removed.

in testimony whereof, I hereunto aihx my signature.

WILLIAM H. .V 00D. 

